Souls Of Their Ancestors

Walking down the furthest ghats of Varanasi, we were having chai at Gai Ghat when the sounds of a familiar dialect wafted into my ears...Marathi! Having grown up in Bombay, hearing the language in the heart of Uttar Pradesh was like music to my ears, so I chatted with the grey haired gentlemen engaged in animated conversation. What I learnt was fascinating...A group of over 50 people from rural Maharashtra, a majority of them aged over 65 were traveling by bus for close to two months across North and Central India. Organised twice a year by the "Jai Balaji Yatra Company" for the princely sum of 14000 rupees, this was dream come true for these folks as it allowed them to experience a pilgrimage to holiest of the holy shrines in India. They were in Varanasi to perform the ancient ceremony of "Pind Daan" where one offers rice balls mixed with flour and honey in the presence of the mighty Ganga to put at rest departed souls of ancestors. The entire ceremony was choreographed like clockwork by a Maharashtrian priest whose family had settled in Varanasi many generations ago. Time stood still as we watched them perform the rituals and when they were done, we left humbled at the perseverance of these hardy souls, who had journeyed across the country to pray for the souls of their ancestors...

Comments

[Vishy]

Yaar Soumya - yeh sub tum likh rahey ho ki Priti? My guess is Priti - or maybe she's helping :) btw, compliment kar rahan hoon (he he).